Egypt #3: Called by God
Called by God
For the team, by Rev. Kimmy Briggs
First Presbyterian Church, Lewistown, MT
Today, we visited the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo (ETSC), joining the community for their special fall fellowship day!
From the moment we arrived, we were welcomed with joy and with open arms. As someone who has visited the seminary several times, it truly felt like a homecoming.
To begin our day, I had the privilege of preaching in chapel. Using the call of Jeremiah, I reflected on the excuses we make when we are called by God, much like Jeremiah told God that he could not speak for he was only a boy. And yet, God chose and called Jeremiah to be God’s prophet.
Because when God calls, it’s not really about who we are, but about who God is. And while the challenges might be great, we serve a faithful God who gives us what we need to fulfill our calls. And God doesn’t just give us enough to get by, God intends that we run with horses (Jeremiah 12:5).
While I preached about a more individual sense of call, the theme continued as we met with faculty, staff, and students to learn about the seminary. ETSC is the training ground for pastors in the Presbyterian Church in Egypt. Upon the recommendation of their church, the approval of their home presbytery, and an interview with the seminary, students begin a four-year journey at the seminary that includes coursework and fieldwork.
The seminary, like most theological institutions, values quality education and rigorous learning, but ETSC understands that its purpose is to train leaders to serve the church of today. It emphasizes both classroom learning and practical learning, while also devoting time and resources to forming the students who will become pastors throughout Egypt.
The result…energetic, passionate, and engaging pastors with a clear sense of call to serve the church and expand the kingdom of God. It is the very thing we witnessed at 6 October Church, El Shihk Zayed Church, and Imbaba Church yesterday; the thing we will continue to experience as we continue to visit churches.
The recent history in Egypt is complex, yet the Presbyterian church has experienced joy and blessing, and growth. God is doing something in Egypt, and central to its vision is the seminary’s desire to find where God is at work and join that work. Because they know that God is not only calling students to be pastors, but God is calling the seminary to play a central role in training and equipping the church to serve the Arab-speaking world.
Through it all, the seminary is experiencing the faithfulness of God as it wrestles with the challenges of training faculty, raising funds, and a growing student body.
We got a glimpse of the great work of the seminary when, following our visits with faculty, staff, and students, we joined the whole seminary community for a bbq lunch (that, of course, served lots of food) and enjoyed a time of informal fellowship with students and their families.
It was a full day, but a day filled with joy!
